Bolt track and assorter



p 1945; N. V. KUEHLMAN M 2,385,141

BOLT TRACK AND ASSORTER Original Filed July 10 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 K?INVENTOR.

N. V. KUEHLMAN BOLT TRACK AND ASSORTER I Sept. 18, 1945;

v Original Filed July 10 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Norman 1/ /fuek/m an Sept; 18, 1945. N. v. KUEHLMAN BQLT TRACK AND ASSORTER Origins;Filed July 10, 1941 3 Shets-Shea't 5 I INVENTOR.

Norma/7 M/auefi/man ATTOR FYI Patented Sept. 18, 1945 Norman V. KuehlmanMilwaukee, Wis., assignor to The National Lock Washer Company, New- Iark, N. J.,- a corporation of New. Jersey Original application July 10,1941, Serial- No. 401,804. Dividedand this application August 25, 1942,Serial No. 456,041.

zoiaiins. (01. 209-90)" This is a division of my application Ser. No.401,804.

The invention described'and claimed herein is for a bolt blank track andassorter adapted to convey bolts or bolt blanks from one point toanother and, at the same time, position the blanks in a predeterminedmanner and reject those which are improperly positioned or proportioned.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device as embodied in a bolt andwasher assembly machine with most of those parts which do not pertain tothe present invention omitted from the figure.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a. portion of the bolt track.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the track shown in Fig. 2.

Fig, 4 is a section through 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section through 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section through 6-6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a section through 'l'! of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the rejection mechanism in the blanktrack.

A hopper 2 is provided to receive a quantity of bolt blanks B. Thishopper is shown in the form of an inverted pyramid but may be conical,if so desired. From it, the blanks are conveyed along a suitable pathwhich will be described in detail, to their destination which may be anassembly mechanism or similar device.

Near the bottom of the bolt blank hopper 2 are suitable baflles, notshown, to prevent the full weight of the blanks from being imposed uponthe apparatus underneath the opening in the lowermost part of thehopper. Under this opening is positioned a blank vibrating feeder 60mounted upon a vibrator 6|. A suitable form of feeder mechanism is soldunder the trade name of Syntron" and made under United States LettersPatent Nos. 1,637,401 and 1,637,717.

The feeder 60 is positioned close enough to the bottom of the hopper 2to prevent uncontrolled discharge of the blanks. Blank flow control isobtained by adjusting the position of the vibrator 6|.

Feeder 60, as shown in Fig. 1, is open at the right end which ispositioned above the blank aligning trough 62. The upper end of trough62 has wide V-shaped sides 63 and 64 which taper down and separate atthe bottom thereof to form a track made up of two parallel verticallydisposed rails or surfaces 65 and 66.

Members 65 and 66 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than thediameter of the shank of the bolt blank B by means of suitable spacingmembers-61 held in place by bolts 68. -Wh'en the blank drops from feeder60 into the trough 62. the V -shaped' cross section thereof, as shown inFig. 4, serves to align up the blanks and, as they pass downwardly andmove from the trough, as shown in Fig. 4 onto that part of the blankpath which is shown in Fig. 5, the blanks will arrange themselves so asto be supported on their heads between the rails 65 and 66 and thentravel downwardly by gravity along these rails. The open space betweenthe rails allows dirt and other foreign matter, such as nails, wire, andchips, to fall out of the track.

As the blanks move down along the track to a position represented by thesection shown in Fig. 7, they approach a blank selector 10 which is.designed to discard any blanks which are not properly aligned. Theengaging portion 70' of this selector extends out over the traclm 65 and66 and has a sloping face arranged at an angle of about 45 to the pathof travel of the blanks and is so spaced in relation to the top of thetracks that the head of a blank disposed in proper position will passunder the selector, but a blank which is not properly disposed oraligned in relation to the tracks will strike the selector and be pushedoff through the gap H in track 65. In order to prevent properly alignedblanks from dropping through the opening II, the tracks are tilted in aclockwise direction as viewed in the direction of the path of travel ofthe blanks and as shown in Fig. 7 so that as a properly aligned blankpasses under me selector l0 and across the gap II, it is sufiicientlysupported by track 66 alone, because the shank of the blank can restagainst the inside wall of track 66. Discarded blanks will drop downinto chute 12 (Fig. 8) from which they can be discharged into a suitablereceptacle.

After the blank has passed the gap H in the track 65, it passes under atop rail 73 and continues to travel along the path indicated in Fig. 1on the tracks and 66, down to its destination which is illustrated as anassembly wheel shown at A. That portion of the track 65 and 66 whichextends upwardly from the assembly wheel A for a short distance may beconsidered the blank reservoir.

I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the exactdetails of construction shown and described, as my invention isobviously capable of various modifications.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a track having inclinedstationary spaced rails arranged to support the head of a bolt blank onthe top of the rails with the shank of the blank extending between thespaced rails, a plane disposed at right angles to the plane of the uppersurface of said track adapted to form an angle with a vertical plane sothat one rail will be slightly higher than the other. rail, a gap in thehigher of the'two rails adapted to permit the passage of a blanktherethrough and a stationary arm arranged above said track and gap andspaced from the upper surface of saidtrack a I distance more than thethickness of the head of a bolt blank and adapted to engage a'malformedor misplaced blank and force it through said gap to separate it from theremaining blanks traveling along said track while permitting a normallypositioned and dimensioned blank to move past the gap supported on theunbroken rail with the head of the blank on top of the rail and theshank resting against the side thereof.

a 2. In a device of the character described a track having inclinedstationary spaced rails arranged to support the headrof a bolt blank onthe top of the rails with the shank of the blank extending between thespaced rails, a plane disposed at right angles to the plane of the uppersurface of said track adapted to form an angle with a vertical plane sothat one rail will be slightly higher than the other rail, a gap in thehigher of the two rails adapted to permit the passage of a blanktherethrough and a stationary arm arranged above said track and gap andspaced from the upper surface thereof a distance more than the thicknessof the head of a bolt blank and an inclined engaging surface on said armarranged crosswise of the path of travel T of said blank along saidtrack at an angle less than a right angle to said path of travel andadapted to urge malformed or misplaced bolts 1 -off said track andthrough said gap while permitting' a normally positioned and dimensionedblankto move past the gap supported on the unbroken rail with the headof the blank on top of the rail and the shank resting against the sidethereof.

' NORMAN V. KUEI-ILMAN.

